PREDATORY INSECTS FREQUENTING THE ORANGE. 19 L 



plant enemies, particularly the leaf-eating caterpillars. Others of the 

 Soldier-bugs feed upon the juices of the plant for a short time after 

 hatching, and afterwards live exclusively upon insects. 



The most rapacious of the bugs belong to the family Reduviidas, and 

 have the head well separated from the body by a more or less slender 

 neck ; they possess a stout, curved beak and long legs, well fitted for 

 rapid movements. Many of these species bristle with spines, especially 

 in the younger stages, and the usual colors are dark brown variegated 

 with red. 



THE SPIDER-LEGGED SOLDIER-BUG. 



(Leptocorisa tipuloides Latr.) 

 [Plate VI, Fig. 4.] 



This species has already been discussed among the enemies of Bark- 

 lice (see Chapter VI). It is very commonly seen upon the Orange, and 

 frequents, often in great numbers, trees infested with Lecanium Scales, 

 and not only sucks the juices of the Bark-lice, but also captures ants 

 and other insects which are attracted by the lice. 



This predaceous bug should not be confounded with the plant-sucking 

 Red bug (Dijsflcrcus suturellus), which does injury to the fruit. In Lep- 

 tocoris i the form is slender ; the body seven-tenths of an inch long and 

 the legs longer than the body ; the colors are orange and black. 



The stouter form and deep red color of the Red-bug render the two 

 species distinguishable at a glance. 



Leptocorisa must be classed among beneficial insects, sinc.e it feeds to 

 some extent upon Plant-lice and Bark-lice ; but, like many predatory 

 bugs, it captures and destroys indiscriminately the friends as well as 

 the foes of the plant. Possibly at times it subsists almost entirely upon 

 the honey-dew ejected by Plant-lice. Acids as well as sweets appear 

 to be suited to its taste, and it is one of the few insects known to' prey 

 upon ants, the juices of whose bodies are strongly flavored with formic 

 acid. 



The following soldier-bugs form part of a great army of pmlaceous 

 insects which frequent the orange tree, but have no very 

 close connection with the plant or its especial fauna. 



THE RAPACIOUS SOLDIER-BUG. 



(Sinea multispinosa, De Geer.) 



[Fig. 92.1 



FIG. 92 Sinea mul- 



Colors brownish, with a red stripe along the upper ttspinosa. (Alter 

 surface of the abdomen. The body is slender, but less 

 so than Leptocorisa. The young bugs are said to feed upon Plant-lice j 

 the atUiltSj boweyer, attack insects of large size. 



